Pat Weber didn't plan on being part of a crime trend that has generated worldwide buzz this past week, but he didn't have much choice.

The Encinitas resident and surfing instructor got lost on a dirt road in Baja California last month while looking for a surfing spot called Cuatro Casas. He and his girlfriend decided to park for the night on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

Just after sundown, two men wearing ski masks approached Weber's motor home and ordered him to come out. He refused but surrendered after they fired a bullet through a window.

The assailants held a gun to Weber's head while they ransacked the motor home and took about $10,000 worth of items. They also sexually assaulted his girlfriend, Weber said.

It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune not to identify victims of sexual crimes.

The Oct. 23 attack was one of at least six armed robberies and carjackings in the past five months that targeted surfers en route to camping spots in northern Baja. Some of the victims reported their experiences to the police, while others posted their stories on surfing and travel Web sites.

The Union-Tribune published details of the crimes Wednesday. Since then, blogs and TV and radio stations based everywhere from Southern California to Australia have covered the topic.

They have featured tourists who never encountered trouble in Baja and those who stopped visiting the peninsula's remote, picturesque beaches because of crimes that happened 10 or 20 years ago. A few included safety tips ahead of the Thanksgiving vacation stretch.

On Friday, a crew from CNN came to town to produce a segment about what Weber and his girlfriend went through.

I'm not asking for sympathy, said Weber, who said he went public to warn other travelers.

Weber said feels guilty that he couldn't defend his girlfriend, and he keeps second-guessing himself about the decision to camp in an isolated area. His sleep has been fitful, and he often feels a knot of emotions.

I'm like a piñata on wheels, loaded up and ready to be smashed open, he said.

Despite the trauma, Weber is thankful to be alive. (The gunmen) had all the cards, he said. It could have ended 100 different ways much worse.

Weber, 47, had logged more than 500 days in Baja and has taken dozens of students there over the past 10 years. Now he vows to never return.

I can't in good conscience take someone down there and say it's safe, because it's not, he said. For me, this is the end of an era.

On Friday, Weber invited friends and past students to a surfing session and potluck lunch at South Carlsbad State Beach, the home base for his San Diego Surfing Academy.

Weber said the group hug, his term for the event, will help heal his mental and emotional wounds. It's part of my catharsis, he said. I'm still numb and reeling from the experience. It's like a bad dream.

When the CNN crew showed up, Weber pointed out the bullet hole in his motor home.

That, I'm not going to get fixed, he said. I'm just going to plug it with a cork from a wine bottle.

Amid the rising concern about what some surfers see as sophisticated, paramilitary-style crimes in Baja, longtime visitors to the peninsula said tourists can take steps to reduce their chances of becoming victims.

They advised people to travel in caravans of two or more vehicles and to stay in campgrounds that have security guards. Some surfers urged campers to bring a dog and said it's a good idea to have a cell phone or rent a satellite phone.

When in Mexico at a remote site, you are vulnerable and you need to pay attention, said Kent Layton, who operates a fenced-in surf camp at Cuatro Casas called the Boat Ranch. Be proactive. Have a plan, and whenever possible, leave yourself an out.

Layton also recommends that travelers leave a copy of their itinerary with friends and family members.

I have a technical question that maybe somebody here can answer: when a newspaper article, such as this one, says the woman was “sexually assaulted”, does that mean she was raped? If so, why does it not say “raped”? I have seen stories where the victim was described as having been sexually assaulted, but it was obvious that rape had not occurred, so I was wondering if there was some hard and fast rule about the use of the two terms in newspaper land.

I was thinkin that too. I suppose the mexican border guards do a run through of your vehicle for weapons and drugs? It would be fairly easy to stash a gun in an RV opposed to a car.
Shoot, shovel, shut-up?

I would be very carful about trying to sneak something in or out of Mexico. I knew someone who hid a bottle of liquor in their trailer. It was found. A weapons charge could be quite stiff in Mexico. Enter at your own risk, but don’t think a trip to prison down there is going to be a great option.

10
posted on 11/19/2007 11:26:14 AM PST
by DoughtyOne
(California, where the death penalty is reserved for wholesome values. SB 777)

Of course not, but it is Mexico, I've seen the stories for years about the risks and crimes against tourists there. Thus, I wouldn't go there. I also would never go to Jamaica again either....I prefer a more civilized law abiding destination as it clearly reduces personal risk.

Old news. This has been going on for decades. As Mexico struggles with the drug lords for control, the violence has gotten substantially worse.

American citizens are being kidnapped in Laredo and taken across the border by drug lords where they are often held for ransom and, sometimes, murdered. The State Department finally had to issue a travel warning about Mexico a year or two ago because the crime and violence have gotten so bad.

This is the stuff that Bush, Fox and Claderon DON’T want you to know. I live within 150 miles of the Texas-Mexico border and used to love going to the border towns. However, because of the crime and the violence, I refuse to go.

I’ve been traveling to Mexico since the late 1970s and this guy’s big mistake was to camp in an isolated area. He even knew that, but still did it. Just like wolves waiting for the weakest deer to fall behind the herd, these banditos pounced upon this guy and his girlfriend. If you treat Mexico as the wilds with the same barbaric rules of nature, then you’ll do all right down there and have fun.

I have had two friends get shot down there and left for dead in trash bags. Their parents had to come get their fly swarmed corpses. Both of them broke the rules of nature and wild Mexico swallowed them whole.

so I was wondering if there was some hard and fast rule about the use of the two terms in newspaper land.

Yes. When the use of the term is damaging to the perpetrator and he/she/it is a member of a protected class (minority, gay, Hispanic, African-American, etc.), then it is a "sexual assault". When the perpetrator is a white, heterosexual, Christian male, it is a "rape".

I think people think, because of lurid headlines and blockbuster Hollywood crime movies, that foreign countries have lower crime rates than the US. Nothing could be further from the truth. And these tourists have discovered the truth for themselves, the hard way.

“Sexual assault” is a broad definition for a variety of sex crimes. I don’t want to get too descriptive here, but “sexual assault” typically includes forced sodomy, forced or coerced fondling and touching, anal penetration and vaginal penetration.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the legal definition of rape and sexual assault will vary. Historically, rape has been defined as forced sexual intercourse upon a woman. Other crimes of a sexual nature are typically considered sexual assault.

One can only guess what Mexico’s legal definition of rape and assault are. It is probably the Mexican definition that is in play here since this is where the attack occurred.

It's guys like him who accepted the invasion in the first place. And he's either too stupid or venal to criticize Mexico and recognize it for what it is, so crap like this happens - crap that anyone else with half a brain already understood as being the reality there - but which he denies, or doesn't try to understand.

Additional note on the DLA, it would give corrupt Mexican officials access to data on US citizens and with the SS#, Mexican officials would know the finances of American citizens who vacation there. Good way to invent false charges and extract “la Morida” or bribe out of more affluent Americans who reside in DLA member states.

I will not travel to Mexico. A neighbor of mine went down there and her husband ended up suddenly dying (heart attack), but went she went through to get him back here was unbelievable. Thirty days later or more (can't remember), thousands of dollars, she finally brought his cremated ashes back to the states. She didn't want to cremate him but after so much time lapsed she had no choice.

Weber said feels guilty that he couldn't defend his girlfriend, and he keeps second-guessing himself about the decision to camp in an isolated area.

The dumb ass should feel guilty. If you want to put yourself in a dangerous situation without any means of defense, that's your business. To take someone along with you is pretty low. Too bad the girl was as foolish as him.

The police are all corrupt. It used to be you could buy your way out of a situation in Mexico but its gotten to the point where one can't tell the different between the cops and the crime gangs. They're all on the take and its been that way in Mexico for centuries.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

Old Pro, you get an automatic 5 year sentence for possessing a gun in Mexico. NEVER carry one across the border, many people that have accidentally driven to an entry port that have been searched and found with weapons get an automatic 5 year sentence - neither your attorney nor the U.S. State department can get you out, it is a nightmare beyond your wildest dreams. You certainly have the right concept, but everyone should be aware of the mexican laws, you can lose your life there easily either in prison or from being unable to defend yourself.

There was an article in Surfer magazine a couple of months ago - some California surfer dudes were robbed, shot, and left for dead by corrupt Federales south of San Diego. I myself am never going to Mexico again until they clean up the corrution there.

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